Tenderloin bus stops are hot spots for crime

SFPD Officer Joel Aylworth patrols near the bus shelter at Eddy and Leavenworth streets, the scene of several incidents of crime.

SFPD Officer Joel Aylworth patrols near the bus shelter at Eddy and Leavenworth streets, the scene of several incidents of crime.

Photo: Jason Henry, Special To The Chronicle

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The bus stop with the highest crime rate in the city at the corner of Leavenworth and Eddy Streets in San Francisco, Calif., Wednesday, July 24, 2013.

The bus stop with the highest crime rate in the city at the corner of Leavenworth and Eddy Streets in San Francisco, Calif., Wednesday, July 24, 2013.

Photo: Jason Henry, Special To The Chronicle

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The bus stop with the highest crime rate in the city at the corner of Leavenworth and Eddy Streets in San Francisco, Calif., Wednesday, July 24, 2013.

The bus stop with the highest crime rate in the city at the corner of Leavenworth and Eddy Streets in San Francisco, Calif., Wednesday, July 24, 2013.

Photo: Jason Henry, Special To The Chronicle

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The bus stop with the highest crime rate in the city at the corner of Leavenworth and Eddy Streets in San Francisco, Calif., Wednesday, July 24, 2013. Here SFPD patrolmen Pat Dudy, right, and Joel Aylworth, in vehicle, chat with people sitting at the stop. less

The bus stop with the highest crime rate in the city at the corner of Leavenworth and Eddy Streets in San Francisco, Calif., Wednesday, July 24, 2013. Here SFPD patrolmen Pat Dudy, right, and Joel Aylworth, in ... more

Photo: Jason Henry, Special To The Chronicle

Tenderloin bus stops are hot spots for crime

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When new bus shelters were designed the process was classic San Francisco.

The three-year bidding process focused on aesthetics and coming up with something "industrial chic." The Arts Commission was consulted. The wavy canopy, in a shade of reddish-orange meant to evoke the Golden Gate Bridge, was constructed to represent an abstract "seismic wave."

The city even found a way to pay for the 1,100 new shelters. Clear Channel, the national media company, agreed to fund the kiosks - which cost roughly $10,000 apiece - in exchange for exclusive advertising rights.

Yep, virtually every aspect of the new bus shelters was considered, debated, tweaked and approved until they made their debut in 2010.

There was only one little detail about the shelters that was overlooked - they encourage crime.

Tenderloin Station police Capt. Jason Cherniss is now leading a drive to have the shelter removed at Eddy and Leavenworth streets, which is barely half a block from his police station.

It looks very artistic, Cherniss says, "but it is clear that natural surveillance was not considered. I have received many complaints from residents, service providers and officers at the Tenderloin about the crime that this bus shelter shields, and the disorder that it attracts."

The final straw for Cherniss came two weeks ago.

"I arrested a man who was urinating on the walls of the shelter," Cherniss said, "which was full of people, in broad daylight."

This isn't the first time the issue has come up. Supervisor Jane Kim, who represents the district, says her office was successful in getting a bus shelter at Turk and Hyde streets removed. Although that meant residents had to stand unprotected on the street, the safety concerns took precedence.

"It was right next to a playground," Kim said. "And removing it made a huge difference. We want to have shade and protection from rain, but if residents don't feel safe, we don't want it."

Cherniss, who took over the job in the Tenderloin in May, is a devotee of crime prevention through environmental design, which is a national movement to improve safety with thoughtfully designed "street furniture," lighting and landscaping.

"When the target area is high in crime," Cherniss says, "you want to give it the best chance to succeed."

The advertising on the bus stops blocks the view from the sidewalk.

"People walking near the bus shelter cannot see the crimes taking place in and around the shelter," Cherniss wrote in his weekly newsletter.

The logical solution would be to remove the ads and make the walls transparent. But under the arrangement with Clear Channel, the shelters wouldn't exist without the ads.

But he's not opposed to the idea. So far, three have been removed in the Tenderloin.

"We certainly get it from the crime prevention point of view," he said. "Obviously, safety is our No. 1 concern."

Reiskin says that the MTA has gotten pushback from the community when they have removed shelters, but indications are that the opposition to the new shelters is only building.

Mike Wrubel says things have gone downhill since a new shelter was installed last fall near his home at O'Farrell and Larkin streets. He's getting over a wild, multiple-shooter gun battle that broke out on the corner Saturday night that left one man dead and one seriously injured.

"The shelter has increased the drug trafficking and is providing shelter for drug dealers," he says. "The shelter is harboring criminals."